How do you BECOME ready?
Our exploration starts in Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Here, in section 49, we find a fascinating discussion about just such a secret: the covenant of circumcision, the brit milah.
The text opens with a powerful verse from (Psalms 25:14): “The secret of the Lord is [revealed] to those who fear Him, and His covenant to inform them.” But what is this "secret of the Lord?" The Rabbis tell us it's brit milah. Why this particular ritual?
According to this Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), God didn't reveal this covenant from the time of Adam until twenty generations later, when Abraham arrives on the scene. It's then, in (Genesis 17:2), that God says, "I will establish My covenant between Me and you.” God essentially tells Abraham: ‘If you become circumcised, you will receive the sod – the secret – of the Lord.’
But it gets even more interesting. The Midrash delves into the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in the word sod: Samekh (60), vav (6), and dalet (4), which add up to 70. And that number, 70, is significant. God says that through the merit of circumcision, He will bring forth seventy descendants from Abraham, just as (Deuteronomy 10:22) states: “With seventy people, your ancestors descended.” From those seventy would come seventy elders (Numbers 11:16), and from them Moses, who, according to the Midrash, expounded the Torah in seventy languages (Deuteronomy 1:5). All thanks to the power of the brit.
The text implies that the power of circumcision ripples outwards, impacting generations and enabling profound understanding.
But how did Abraham actually perform the circumcision? The Midrash paints a vivid picture. Abraham asks, "Who will circumcise me?" God replies, "You, yourself." Abraham, being 99 years old at this point, picks up a knife, hesitates, and then… God extends His hand to help! (Nehemiah 9:7-8) says that God "made the covenant with him,” not just to him. This, the Rabbis suggest, teaches that God was literally holding Abraham’s hand. What an intimate image!
The Midrash then explores the idea that access to God's secrets is earned through righteousness. Initially, the "secret of the Lord" was available to all who feared Him. Later, it was restricted to the upright (Proverbs 3:32), and eventually, only to the prophets (Amos 3:7). But Abraham? He embodies all three qualities! He's God-fearing (Genesis 22:12), upright (Song of Songs 1:4), and a prophet (Genesis 20:7).
The text uses several analogies to illustrate this special relationship. One compares God to a king who consults his close friend before making decisions, even about his own property. Another compares God to a king with three close friends: Adam, Noah, and Abraham. The first two were banished or imprisoned, but Abraham, the most beloved, is always consulted.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman offers another analogy: a king who always seeks the advice of his senior advisor. God appointed Abraham as a "father of a multitude of nations" (Genesis 17:5), so shouldn't God consult him before judging even Sodom and Gomorrah? The Midrash suggests that Abraham’s understanding was incredibly vast. Rabbi Aḥa even says Abraham knew the laws of joining courtyards on Shabbat (the Sabbath), even though they are rabbinic in origin! Rabbi Pinchas says he knew the future name of Jerusalem. According to Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥiyya, and other Rabbis, Abraham even understood the new halakha (Jewish law) that God introduces daily in the supernal court, based on (Job 37:2).
So, what does this all mean for us? Is it just an ancient story about a ritual performed long ago? Or does it offer a deeper insight? Perhaps it suggests that true understanding, true connection with the Divine, requires dedication, courage, and a willingness to enter into a covenant – to make a commitment, even when it's difficult. Maybe, just maybe, the secrets of the universe are waiting to be revealed to those who are willing to reach for them, hand-in-hand with something greater than themselves.
It is written: “The secret of the Lord is [revealed] to those who fear Him, and His covenant to inform them” (Psalms 25:14). What is “the secret of the Lord”? This is circumcision,7Often referred to as brit, the covenant. as He did not reveal it from Adam the first man until twenty generations, until Abraham arose, and He gave it to him, as it is stated: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you” (Genesis 17:2). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘If you become circumcised, you will receive the secret [sod] of the Lord.’ What is the secret of the Lord? Samekh is sixty, vav is six, dalet is four, yielding seventy. Due to the merit of circumcision, I will bring forth out of you seventy, as it is stated: “With seventy people, your ancestors descended” (Deuteronomy 10:22). I will bring forth from them seventy elders, as it is stated: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel” (Numbers 11:16). I will bring forth from them Moses, who pronounced the Torah in seventy languages, as it is stated: “Moses undertook to expound [be’er]8The midrash interprets be’er as being as explicit as possible, i.e. saying it in all languages. [this Torah]” (Deuteronomy 1:5). By whose merit? It is by the merit of circumcision, as it is stated: “The secret [sod] of the Lord is [revealed] to those who fear Him.” The Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: ‘It is sufficient for the disciple to be similar to his master.’9This is a new interpretation of: “The secret [sod] of the Lord is [revealed] to those who fear Him, and His covenant to inform them,” interpreting sod as inner circle. Through circumcision, Abraham became part of God’s inner circle, as it were. He [Abraham] said before Him: ‘Who will circumcise me?’ He said: ‘You, yourself.’ Thereupon, Abraham took a knife and held his foreskin, and he was about to cut, but he was afraid, because he was so old. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He extended his hand and held it with him as Abraham was cutting, as it is stated: “You are the Lord the God, who chose Abram […and made the covenant with him]” (Nehemiah 9:7–8). “And He made the covenant to him” is not written here, but rather, “made with him.” This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He was holding on to him. Another matter, “the secret of the Lord is [revealed] to those who fear Him.” At first, “the secret of the Lord” was [revealed] to those who fear Him. Then it was [revealed] to the upright: “And his secret is to the upright (Proverbs 3:32). Then it was to the prophets: “For the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants, the prophets” (Amos 3:7).10At first, in succeeding generations, “the secret of the Lord,” meaning His plans for the future, was available to all who feared Him; subsequently, it was restricted to those who were on the higher level of uprightness, and then finally to the prophets alone. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘This Abraham is God fearing, as it is stated: “For now I know that you are God fearing” (Genesis 22:12). This Abraham is the most upright of the upright, as it is stated: “The upright love you” (Song of Songs 1:4).11This verse is a reference to the Patriarchs. This Abraham is a prophet, as it is stated: “Now, restore the man's wife, as he is a prophet” (Genesis 20:7). Shall I, then, not reveal to him [what I am about to do]?’ Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This is analogous to a king who gave an estate to his friend. Some time later, the king sought to chop down five non-fruit-bearing trees from inside it. The king said: ‘Even if I had asked [to cut down trees] from his own ancestral property, he would not have refused. So what of it?’12What would be wrong if I cut down those trees without his permission? [Nevertheless,] he consulted with him [first]. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I have already granted the land to Abraham as a gift, as it is stated: “To your descendants I have given this land” (Genesis 15:18), and these five cities belong to him. Even if I had I sought to do so [to destroy areas] from his own ancestral property he would not have refused. So what of it?’ [Nevertheless,] He consulted with him first. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: This is analogous to a king who had three close friends, and he would never do anything without their knowledge. One time he wanted to do something without their knowledge. He took the first one and banished him and expelled him from the palace. The second one he incarcerated in a prison cell and placed his royal seal upon it. Regarding the third, who was exceedingly beloved to him, he said: ‘I will not do anything without consulting him.’ So, too, Adam the first man – “He banished the man” (Genesis 3:24); Noah, “the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). Regarding Abraham, who was exceedingly beloved to him, he said: ‘Could I do anything without his knowledge?’ Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This is analogous to a king who had a senior adviser, and he would not do anything without his knowledge. The king said: ‘Did I not appoint him as my adviser specifically so that I would not to do anything without his knowledge?’ Rabbi Yudan said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘His brother’s son, Lot, is there; shall I not reveal it to him?’ The Rabbis say: [God said:] ‘I have already called him their father, as it is stated: “For I have rendered you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5).13Including Sodom and Gomorrah. Does one judge a son without [notifying] the father? I revealed the giving of the Torah to him. I revealed Gehenna to him.14See Bereshit Rabba 44:21. The sentence of Sodom is tomorrow, shall I not reveal it to him?’ Rabbi Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rabbi Natan: Abraham knew even the laws of the joining of courtyards [on Shabbat].15Even though they are of rabbinic, not biblical origin. Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: He knew even the new name that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to call Jerusalem, as it is stated: “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:17). Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥiyya, and the Rabbis from over there16In Babylon. in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: There is not a single day that the Holy One blessed be He does not introduce a new halakha in the supernal court. What is its source? “Hear the fury of His voice, the sound [hegeh] that emerges from His mouth” (Job 37:2). Hegeh is nothing other than Torah, as it is stated: “You shall speak of [vehagita] it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). Even those laws Abraham knew.
